Posted on January 23, 2022

"Our friend Epictetus developed his own highly original take on why the three Stoic areas of study are important:

There are three departments in which a man who is to be good and noble must be trained. The first concerns the will to get and will to avoid; he must be trained not to fail to get what he wills to get nor fall into what he wills to avoid. The second is concerned with impulse to act and not to act, and, in a word, the sphere of what is fitting: that we should act in order, with due consideration, and with proper care. The object of the third is that we may not be deceived, and may not judge at random, and generally it is concerned with assent."

—Massimo Pigliucci, How to Be a Stoic

“To be good and noble”, that just sounds so detached from today’s world. In a reality where introspection is scarce—maybe due to lack of instructions—, Epictetus provides a step-by-step that is almost worthy of the For Dummies series.

In order to meet the first discipline (i.e. desire, related to the physics), we need courage to achieve what we decide. It’s easy to fall behind and find excuses to stop mid-way; it’s challenging—and thus, more rewarding— to follow through with our will. At the same time, we need temperance to willingly walk away from the behaviors and actions we know we need to avoid.

On the other hand, the second discipline (i.e. action, related to the ethics) is met when we decide to act according to justice, in a rational way. Thus, we shall strive to act accordingly with due consideration.

Lastly, the third one (i.e. assent, related to the logic) is probably the hardest to achieve nowadays. We live in a world full of misinformation, disguise, and senseless standards never to be met by the majority of us. Instead of falling into such wilderness, instead of being led by superfluous stereotypes and judgments, we should aim to rise above all of that, developing our own judgment with wisdom.

I understand this is not something to be met from one day to the next. However, I find Epictetus’ guide pretty clear. Even if they are not easy to meet, at least we have some idea of how we should start behaving in order to live a good human life (the Stoic way that is). On my end, I will be more conscious of applying this advice in my day-to-day life, because I want to, and because I can.